


Whatever You Do, Don't Fall Asleep

by ZaccRiseC3P



Series: Ozqrow Week 2020 [3]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Basically Salem just becomes Freddy Krueger, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by A Nightmare on Elm Street, M/M, Nightmares, Ozqrow Week, Ozqrow Week 2020, as a treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:20:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28429932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZaccRiseC3P/pseuds/ZaccRiseC3P
Summary: Ozqrow Week Day 6: SupernaturalThe nightmares were nothing new.  It was the pain that Oz couldn't get used to.  Every time he closed his eyes, he couldn't help but wonder, "Will I wake up in the morning?"(In other words, what I like to call the Nightmare on Elm Street Cloqwork AU No One Asked For :D)
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Ozpin
Series: Ozqrow Week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1995820
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	Whatever You Do, Don't Fall Asleep

**1, 2, Salem’s coming for you…**

_The howling winds battered hard against the large window at Ozpin’s back. His head started pounding as he stared at the reports on his desk in front of him. Nothing written on them made sense, a bunch of gibberish scattered over the screen. Why was it so damn hard for him to_ focus _?_

_Oz looked up, trying to regain his barings. The spinning gears and empty space of his office started to blur together, the headache now causing his ears to ring and his vision to fail him. He took off his glasses and tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes. When he opened them again, everything was dark, quiet, still. The wind had stopped, the gears no longer spinning, every light in his office snuffed out except one. Somehow, the elevator door was open. It never made a sound, but there it was, the only source of light in the room. Oz couldn’t tear his eyes away._

_Against his better judgement, the headmaster stood up and slowly approached it. When he stepped inside to investigate further, the door slid closed behind him. Panic set in. His throat closed up, his heart started beating, fast and heavy, like it was trying to break out of his chest. As the elevator started descending, Oz didn’t even have the strength to shout for help. Would it even matter? No one was around, no one would hear, no one was coming to save him._

_Silently, the elevator opened once again, revealing nothing but a black void._

_“Hello?” Oz called out, his voice reverberating against marble and concrete._

Where am I? __

_Cautiously, the silver haired man stepped out. As soon as his heel clicked on the marble floor, a green light was cast on the area a few feet ahead of him. Two torches had lit themselves to guide the way. With every five or so steps, another pair of torches was lit. It allowed him to see the path he was walking, but nothing more. Every corner of the hallway was cloaked in complete shadows, leaving too much to Oz’s imagination. The ceiling was so high he couldn’t see it. When he looked up, there was only darkness._

_The headmaster maintained a steady pace, ensuring that the torches would light before he made his way deeper and deeper into the chamber. Eventually, he stopped when he reached the end. In front of him sat two contraptions- honestly, he wasn’t sure what he was looking at. They looked like some kind of futuristic pod with a glass case, big enough to fit a human. The one on the left had clearly seen better days. It was caked in dust, cracked, and there was a large hole in the shattered glass lid. The one on the right, however, was pristine, almost glowing, perfectly clean and ready to use._

_As if it was inviting him to look inside, Oz cautiously approached the clean pod-like machine. After a moment, he realized that there was actually a person in there. Snow white skin, red veins emanating from her cheeks, a tight black dress. There was something so familiar about the woman he saw resting peacefully in the chamber. He could only stare at her stoic face as he contemplated whether or not to open the pod and wake her from her slumber._

_Suddenly, blood red irises stared back at him, the woman’s eyes snapping open as he got too close. A vicious scream, muffled yet heartwrenching, echoed through the vault. The glass door shattered from the sound waves and the woman shot out of the pod, her movements a blur as she latched onto Oz’s throat. An amused grin on her face, she slowly lifted Oz off the floor and stared into his golden-brown eyes. Air stopped flowing through Oz’s lungs as the woman’s grip became tighter. And yet, he didn’t fight back. He didn’t even know_ how. __

_With a voice so smooth and calm it was absolutely nerve wracking, the woman suddenly said, “Ozma may have succeeded in killing me, but that won’t save you, my dear. I will hunt down every simple soul on Remnant until there are none left.”_

_Ozma. There was that name again. It was a name Ozpin had only heard in his dreams, which could only mean…_

_“You’re… not real…” Oz choked, his words stifled and broken as he spoke through the crushing weight of the woman’s grasp._

_“Oh, I’m better than real,” the villain purred. “I possess powers you mortals could only dream of!”_

_“So you… You think yourself a god?”_

_“No, darling._ This _is god.”_

_Heat started to emanate from the woman’s hand, first starting as a low broil, like a warning, before growing into something more intense. After a second, a searing, burning pain shot through Oz’s throat. A scream ripped through the air, the heat and blistering becoming too much for Oz to handle. Realizing he still had room to scream, the woman’s grip got tighter, the heat even more unbearable. Oz could only take so much before he blacked out._

**3, 4, better lock your door…**

The silence of the night was violently ripped apart by Oz’s cry of pain. He shot up in bed, grabbing at his neck. The burning. It didn’t stop.

“Oz!” Qrow was awake immediately, sitting up with his partner.

Another nightmare, another injury. Qrow couldn’t even feign surprise. The bandages wrapped around Oz’s left arm were only the most recent mark he carried from one of these events.

Hissing and heaving followed the crying as Oz refused to let go of his neck. Qrow couldn’t really tell what was wrong, only that whatever it was caused a lot of pain.

Placing a gentle hand on Oz’s back, Qrow asked, “What’s wrong?”

“It- it _burns_ …” Oz hissed, “my neck, it-”

“Ok,” Qrow said calmly, “let me see, let go.”

Slowly, Oz released his hand, revealing the red, blistering hand-shaped mark on his neck. The silver haired man was careful in keeping his head perfectly still. Every slight adjustment sent a shooting pain through his neck and throat.

Qrow sucked in a sharp breath. “Yikes, that’s… I’ll be right back,” he said before jumping up out of bed.

Oz squeezed his eyes closed, tight. A sob caught in his throat. He refused to give in to the pain, refused to cry over a dream- no matter how badly he wanted to, no matter how much it hurt.

Deep breath in. Deep breath out.

Deep breath in. Deep breath out.

It was the only way Oz knew to control the pain, but his usual method was failing. Every breath became more shaky than the last and his neck still _burned_. His eyes still squeezed shut, a single tear rolled down his cheek. All he wanted to do was go back to sleep but what if…

**5, 6, grab your crucifix…**

Footsteps pounded against the floor and Oz opened his eyes again to find Qrow setting down some supplies on the end table. Some bandages, a wash cloth, ointment, and a glass of water now sat at his bedside. A wave of guilt flooded Oz’s mind as Qrow pulled up a chair and sat down.

“Qrow, you don’t have to-”

The dark haired man placed a reassuring hand on Oz’s arm. “Oz, stop. I’m here, I’m awake. Please. _Let me help you_.”

Head lowered, eyes averted, Oz gently patted Qrow’s hand. His way of saying “Fine, do what you must.”

“Here, sit up.”

Carefully, Qrow led Oz to lean against the headboard. Now that Oz was relatively relaxed, Qrow got to work cleaning the wound, gently dabbing the affected area with the wet washcloth. The coolness of the water caused the pain to subside, if only for a moment.

“So what was it this time?” Qrow wondered.

“I don’t really know how to- ah!”

A hiss escaped Oz’s lips, the combination of speaking while Qrow was constantly touching the wound sending a stinging sensation shooting through his neck and throat. 

“Sorry. Shouldn’t be making you talk right now,” Qrow said, acknowledging his error.

A weak, broken smile tugged at the corners of Oz’s mouth- the slightest indication that he accepted Qrow’s apology.

Qrow continued the treatment, moving on to the ointment. As he put some on his index and middle fingers he warned, “This may sting a little.”

After Qrow put the bottle down, Oz grabbed his free hand and closed his eyes, bracing himself. Immediate relief was short lived as the cool ointment seeped into the skin. Even when the skin cream was gone, Qrow kept rubbing it in, the friction reactivating the blistering pain. Oz flinched, squeezing Qrow’s hand hard as he sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth.

Retracting his hand, Qrow quickly said, “Sorry.”

“Please…” Oz croaked, “don’t apologize.”

Now it was Qrow’s turn to offer a small, weak smile. 

The idea that Qrow felt the need to say sorry made Oz want to cry even more. After all Qrow had been through- staying up with him, protecting him by waking him when things got too bad, treating every injury he sustained in his sleep- if anyone deserved the apology, it was Qrow.

Finally, Qrow concluded the treatment by gently wrapping Oz’s neck in the bandages, careful not to pull them too tight or move Oz’s head too much. When Qrow was done, Oz leaned back again in an attempt to relax. As Qrow started cleaning up he wondered, “How did it happen?”

“I-”

_I will hunt down every simple soul on Remnant until there are none left._

“I don’t know… she had me by the neck and…”

This _is god._

“Suddenly, her hand started emitting so much heat… If I hadn’t woken up when I did I-”

Oz’s voice broke, like someone had pressed “stop” too soon on a recording. Qrow knew how the message was supposed to end, though. Not sure of what to say, Qrow caressed his partner’s face in an attempt to comfort him. It seemed to work, if only temporarily, as Oz leaned into his touch and kissed his palm.

“Come on, let’s get you back to bed,” Qrow said softly.

“No!” Oz insisted. “I- I can’t…”

**7, 8, gonna stay up late…**

“Oz, you have to sleep at some point.”

Oz winced, releasing himself from Qrow’s hand. Yes, Qrow was right, he did _need_ to sleep, but he just _couldn’t_.

“It was just a dream…” Qrow reminded him.

“The _image_ was a dream,” Oz clarified. “The circumstances were all in my head. But _this_ ”- he absent-mindedly touched the bandages around his neck- “is real…”

A sigh fell from Qrow’s lips as he averted his gaze. How could he argue with Oz’s logic? After all, Qrow just spent the better part of an hour treating those very real injuries.

With no counterpoint to offer, Qrow conceded, standing up and going around to the other side of the bed before climbing in next to Oz. He propped himself up against the headboard and gently coaxed Oz to rest his head on his shoulder- making Oz move anymore would just be cruel. Qrow starts to brush his fingers through Oz’s hair. The feeling of his partner’s fingers gently brushing his scalp actually, somehow, made Oz feel _safe_. But he knew it was only temporary.

“One day we’ll get these dreams to end,” Qrow whispered. He kissed Oz on the top of the head before adding, “I promise.” 

Oz wanted to believe him. More than anything in the world, he wanted to believe that Qrow was right. But he couldn’t. All Oz could really do was wonder…

**9, 10…**

_Will I ever sleep again?_

**Author's Note:**

> This is, without a doubt, the _most_ self-indulgent thing I've ever written. So if you read the whole thing and you feel so inclined, please don't hesitate to drop a comment! Feedback of all kinds is appreciated. Thank you for reading! Good luck in the new year!


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